Meat stuffing machine



May 24, 1932. v BAUER 1,860,220

MEAT STUFFING MACHINE v Fi ied March 9, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 J I we May 24, 1932.

w. BAUER MEAT S TUFFING MACHINE Filed March 9. 1928 a 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 24, 1932. w. BAUE R MEAT STUFFING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 24,1932. w, BAUER 1,860,220 1 MEAT STUFFING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 May 24, 1932. w. BAUER MEAT STUFFING MACHINE Filed March 9. 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 4 my \Q RN May 24, 1932. w. BAUER MEAT STUFFING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1928 e Sheets-Sheet e' prior to Patented May 24', 1932 marre stars WALTER BAUER, or crrrcaeqlnmnoisflessrenon 'ro LIBBY, MCNEILL & LIBIBY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or MAINE MEAT srnrrme ncnmr:

Application filed March 9,

This invention relates to can stuifingor filling machines and more particularly to machines employed for filling cans with food substances such as ground meats. or other relatively finely divided plastic food materials, of which corned beef hash or similar food products are examples.

This invention has particular reference to the provision for automatic means for feeding predetermined charges of the material to be canned to the machine, feeding cans to-the machine and into receiving relationship with each of the can stuffing units of the machine during the continuous movement of said units, means for ejecting the stuffed or com pletely' filled cans from the machine, together with other means operating automatically in the combination of an automatic can stuffing machine and the other mechanisms above referred to. 1

This invention has particular reference to the provision of additional mechanism for rendering completely automatic in its operation the type of rotary can stufing machine which comprises a stationary cylindrical frame having cam grooves thereon and about which rotate a plurality of can stuffing units having reciprocating cylinders and nozzles and reciprocating pistons, all operated by the cam grooveson the cylindrical frame-in a manner to cause thenozzles to be introduced into cans placed therebeneath and to cause the pistons to be lowered so as to force the material through the nozzles and charge the cans with a predetermined amount of inaterial, the material having been introduced into the cylinders before the pistons are lowered by any suitable method.

This type of machineralso embodies in its construction a can receiving and positioning device for each stuffing unit located beneath the cylinder and nozzle so as to present the C can when placed therein positively located so as to be held by the nozzle whenit descends the can filling operation. g

In machines of the abovedescribed' type, it has been a practice in the pastto introduce the cans tobe filled on to each can stufling unit manuallyat the proper point in the cycle of operation and to furtherin- 1928. Serial No. 260,292.

troduce into the cylinder and nozzle .of each unit a predetermined Weighed charge of material to be canned at a second and predetermined period in the cycle of operation, and lastly, after the cans have been filled by the lowering of the feeding cylinder and piston, and the nozzle has again been lifted by the'cam action so as to free the can, to remove the can manuallyandto leave the can receiving means or socket free to receive a new can, and so on, to-repeat the cycle of operation. r

The present invention has to do with providing means for combined operation with a 'machine of the above described type, forac complishing all of these operations automatically and by means driven in synchronism with the can stuffing machine so as to provide a completely operative combination,

and a wholly automatic canv stufiing or filling machine. r

Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a can stuffing or filling machine which is Wholly automatic in its operation. Another object of this inventionis to provide means which are applicable tothe ro- ,tary type of can stufing machine above referredto, which will'automatically accomplish the feeding of material to the feeding cylinders, the feeding of cans 'to each unit and the ejecting of the cans and other-incidental automatic operations as will herein after more fully appear."

his a further object to provide a novel and automatic feeding device driven in synchronism with all of the other parts of the machine for feeding predeterminedcharges by volumeto each stufiingunit at a prede-, termined'polnt in the cyc'le'of operation of,

each unit of the stuifing machine.

It is another object of myinvention topro vide in a device of the character described in the above stated objectshan automatic means for feeding cans to each ofthe can" stufling units during the continuous'moves ment of said units.

It is another obj ecttoprovide in a machine of the above described'typemeans forholding the cans during the filling or stufling op-' eration, which means is driven in synchro- IllSIIl with means for feedlng or lntroduclng cans onto each can stuffing unit and means 7 is eliminated. i

It is another object of my invention to pro- I for discharging the'completely filled cans.

vide means of the above described type for preventing cans from being fed to the indi vidual meat stuifing units in the event the previously filled can had not been ejected therefrom, or forzany otherreason the can receiving and positioning means wasnot ready to receivea new can.

p A further object of my invention is to provide meanssuch as an air blast directed against the can receiving and positioning means for maintaining them clean and free from accumulations of the food stuff, ilS'Wlll he sometimes present, for instance, due to overflow, accldental' dropping, or, as in the case where no can had been fed to a particular receiving means to the cylinder discharging a complete charge in the manner as though a can had been in receiving position.

' It is a further object of my invention to provide means'for conveying the ejected cans away, from the point of ejection and for guidingthem on to a suitableconveyor belt in the manner to be hereafter described.

These and otherobjects are accomplished by means of the arrangement disclosed: on the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which Figure .1 is an elevational view of a completely' automatic can stufling machine constructed in accordance with invention.

Figure 2 'is a" plan view of themachine shown in Figure 1. Q i 1 Figure 3is an enlarged fragmenta ry elevational viewincross section, taken through one of the can stufling units on theline 8-3 I of Figured and looking. in the direction of the arrows.

Figure i is an enlarged fragmentary'plan;

j view,.partly in cross section, of the machine shown in Figure 1. 7

A Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational 'view showing the upper' portion of ameat v,stufiing machine and the automatic measuringdevice for the food material tobe canned.

7 Figure 6 is a cross-sectional. plan view; of the mechamsm shown in Figure 5, taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

F igure7 is an enlarged elevational View of the can feeding and receiving mechanisms, partly in cross section, taken on the line 77 of Figure 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is an end elevational view ofthe I mechanism shown in Figure 7, taken on the line 8'-8 of Figure 7 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 7, together with mechanism. for preventing the feeding of cans, when the can receiving means is not ready toreceive a new can.

Figure 10 is an enlarged elevational View partly in cross section of a modified form of lling nozzle contemplated by my invention for filling cans of the sanitary type.

Figure 11 is a plan view, partly'in cross section, of the modification shown in Flgure 10, and taken on the line 1111 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

The various novel features of'the invention will be apparent from the following description and will be particularly pointed out in] the appended claims.

' 1 C'ahconstriwtz'on My invention contemplates providing a machine of the above described type for filling cans either of, the soldered type or of the sanitary type. In order that the present invention will be more readily understood, by

the expression soldered type. of can as used in the present specification, I mean a can having foursidewalls. a top and bottom, the

top of which is provided with a circular or other" shaped opening centrally located through which the contents are introduced.

Whenthis type of can is employed, the nozzle on the stuffing-unit through which the material is fed is preferably'of such size and shape as'to readilyfit within the opening, so

that the flanged portion of the top surround ing the opening acts to 'close'that portion of the can itself.

Bythe expression sanitarytype of can. as

used in this specificatioml mean the type of four sides and a bottom. In order to fill this form of can, themodified form of nozzle mechanism shown inFigures 10 and'll are employed and will be hereinafter more fully described. When this typeof can is completely filled, the top is put on by a crimping or other suitable process, as distinguished from soldering a'closing disk over the small openingas in the case of the soldered type of By' referring to the; dra f willb noted that the type of machine disclosed as lit which is not occupiedby the nozzle lid can which is opened at its top having only illustrative of my'invention embodies a stationary cylindrical frame member 20, mounted on legs 21 and havmg on 1ts outer surface cam grooves or trackways 22, 23 and 24.

The cylindrical frame member is provided with a stepped portion 25 at its upper edge,

flange 28 resting on the step forming a bear ing therefor Corresponding to the upper annulus 27 is the lower annulus 29 having thbearing portion 30 in bearing relation with the step 26. The upper and lower annuluses are'tiedtogether by pairs of vertical rods 31 circumferentially disposed about the'annulus, any desired number being provided, depending upon the size of the annulus and the number of individual can stuffing units desired for the entire machine. Each pair of rods 31 constitutes the guide rods which serve as a mounting for the reciprocating parts of an individual meat stufling unit. The annulus 29, as shown in Figure 3, is provided witha depending flange 32 having internal gear teeth 33, through which the stuffing machine is driven. Corresponding to the lower annulus 32 is an upper annulus 34, mounted as an up-standing flange on the annulus 27 and having internal gear teeth 35. Mounted on top of the annular gear 35 is a second annulus 36, fixed to rotate therewith, having gear teeth 37 for driving the mechanism for measuring charges of material-to be fed to the machine, all in a manner to be hereinafter more fully described. Attention is directed, however, tothe fact that the gear teeth 35 and the gear teeth 36 are of different pitch, inasmuch as they are independent gears and serve for lndependent purposes, even though they are located one in contact with the other. The can stuffing machine is driven from a suitable source of power such as for instance power supplied by the belt 38, driven from a line shaft or motor orany other suitable source of power mounted in driving relation with the pulley 39 mounted on the shaft 40;

The shaft 40 is carried in the bracket 41 held.

on the base of the machine 'andfis provided with a worm ll at one end thereof in mesh with the worm gear 42carrie'd on the vertical shaft a3. The worm and worm gear are preferably housed by means of the casing l l, as;

shown in Figure 1, which housing forms bearings for mounting the vertical shaft 43.

Fixed withthe vertical shaft 43 at the lower end thereof is the gear 45 and attheupper end thereof the gear 46, which mesh with the gears 33 and 35, respectively, of the lower and upper annular members previously described. V

From the above described gearing elements it will be obvious that rotation of the shaft 40 through the power belt '38will impart a rocam groove or form a guideway.

tary movement to the upper and lower annular members on their respective bearing seats 7 carried by the stationary cylindrical frame. a It is further obvious that as the upper and lower annular members rotate the pairs of rods will also rotate. The gearing between the vertical shaft 43 and the upper'andlower annulus is such that the upper and lower I annuluses have exactly the same angular VQlOCllDY.

Mounted to slide on each barof the pairs of guide rods 31 are the partsconstituting an individual meat stufling unit. The structure.

of an individual unit is more clearl'y'illusrated inFigures 1 and 3 and it will be noted 2 that each unit comprises afeeding or stufling cylinder l? having a lip 48 at its upper, outer edge and having a taperedxbottom with a hole 49 therein serving as amounting for the collar 50' and the depending nozzle51.

Extending laterally from opposite sides of was the cylinder l7 are the perforated ears 52 having aligned bearings therethro'ughin a" manner to provide slidingsupporting ele' ments maintaining the cylinder on the guide rods31 for permitting it to reciprocate.

Fixedto the cylinder in the. rear thereof is v the roller 53 attached by a mounting on the stub shaft5 l, so that the roller when introduced into the cam groove or'trackway 24 and the machine is rotating will causethe cylinder to havea reciprocating movement according to the particular formation of the track way. An additional bracket 55 is provided with a second-roller 56 adapted to contact the upper flange 57 of the cam groove 24 to aid in moving the feeding cylinder ln-up and down directions as it rotates about the stationary cylinder frame. Positioned above the feeding cylinder 47 is a feeding plunger or-piston 58 adapted to fit snugly into the cylinder in amanner to eject material contained therein out through the depending nozzle, which plunger or piston is provided with anupstanding stem 59,

head 60, with bearing openings 61 at its ends, forming slide bearings having a cross on the pans of rods 31.. The upstanding stem 59 is provided with a stub. shaft or trunnion 62 on which is mounted a, roller 64, which is in turn mounted in the cam grooveor trackway 23.

. The piston or plunger-58 and its upstanding stem 59 are centrally bored to provide the aperture 66 in which is positioned the plunger rod 67. Fixed to the upper'end of the plunger rod is the traverse arm 68 adapted to slide with the rod, the arm 68 moving up and down in the groove or slot 69 provided therefor in the upstandings'tem 59 in a manner to is the stub shaft 63 which. carries the roller positioned in the cam groove 22.

Carried by the slide bearing members'52' of the feeding cylinder 47; are the vertical Mounted onthe arm 68 3 7 bracket members 70 which support the funnel 71. The funnelis so shaped and posi tioned that its lower reduced end'is located, inside the lip of the feeding cylinder 47 in 1 a manner to direct material deposited in the funnelinto the feeding cylinder and yetf'not interfere with the travel ofthe' plunger or piston 58,

Attention'isdirected to configuration "of the three cam grooves'22, 23-and QLand their disposition on the stationary cylindrical frame relative to each other. The lower groove'24 effects the reciprocation of the Y feeding cylinder. 47, the" cam groov'e23 effects the reciprocation of the ejecting plunger 58,

' and the upper groove 22 causes the desired "lower cam movement of the'inner ejecting plunger'67; Attention is further directed tothe fact that the inner plunger 67 is. adapted to fit the interior of the depending nozzle '51 located at the bottom of the feedingcylinder 47. The groove 24 is of such a shape that the feedingycylinder 47' will beraised and lowered in timed relationto the introduction and removalrof cans on and off of the machine respectively. The left-hand portion of the groove 24 as shown in Figure ,1 is horic feeding nozzle projectinginside"of the'cans 'zontal in a manner to provide a dwell in the movement'of the feedin'g'cylinder in its extreme lower position so asto maintain the V duringthe filling operation. The point in the circumference of the machine where the cam groove 24 commences to rise is that point where the complete filling action has been accomplished, andthe nozzle is lifted out and at substantially the same point in 'circum ference at the point wher der commences to r se. 1 r v 7 its is completely free of the can in time to per- -1nitthe can beingejected from the machine.

The cam groove '23 is so constructed as to effect the proper movement of the plunger whereby it is lowered into the feeding cylinder to eject the contents thereof only after the feeding cylinder and nozzle are in proper inserted position relative to the can, attention being directed to Figure 1 where it will be noted that the plunger commences to rise e the feeding cylin- The cam groove 22 which controls'the inner plunger6711s constructed to cause the 1nner plunger to continue on its downward movement, even after the plunger and the This causes the cylinder commence to rise. feeding nozzle'51 to be completely cleared of the material contained therein whereby a complete discharge ofthe material contained in. the feeding cylinder and nozzle is effected.

During the outward movement of the noz-' zle 51 after the can has been filled, the nozzle is filled with the end of the inner plunger in a mannerto'form a solid cylinder occupying a substantial volume of thecan, all of whlch causes the material to beplaced under abnormal compression, but immediately upon the .ment in the pedestah 'withdra'wal'of the tube and plunger the material is permitted to collapse inwardly and 'fill thespace vacated by the retroacted nozzle. This abnormal compression causesjthe material to be fed to the remote corners of the can and, prevents air spaces and the like from being formed in the can.

The lower annular member 29 constitutes a tableon which are mounted a plurality'o'f can receiving and positioning devices, one beneath each of the can stufling units above described, each device being so positioned and constructed as to locate and maintain a can in proper position to present the can opening in alignment with the filling nozzle 51,

so that the nozzle is introduced thereinto upon the filling cylinder being lowered under the operation, of the machine.

-The machine thus far described in detail the above described machine, constitute the l novelty in the present invention. 7

01m receiving and positioning mecms The can positioning means as contemplated in my invention, is adapted to cooperate with other mechanisms whereby they are wholly automatic in receiving and ejecting cans from the machine. a

Referring now particularlyto Figure 7,.it

will be noted that my device contemplates a Y can positioning device comprising a pedestal 72hav1ng a top surface 73 on which the cans are adapted to rest and the elevation of which is determined with relation'to the extreme lower positions of-the reciprocating parts of the stufiing units. the pedestalis providedwith a stepped slot or groove 74l'having the shoulders 75 as shown in vFigure v '8; This groove forms a guide slot for the reciprocating carriage '76 which 79 are positioned on the shoulders :75-and are heldby suitable screws in a manner to The upper surface 73fof has an inverted T-shaped headi? presenting a the shoulders'78 fitting intheslot 74. Plates maintain the carriage-'7 6 in sliding engage- The carriage is provided with. a shoulder 80 at one-end thereof adapted to engage a portion of the pedestal to limit the'm'ovement of the carriage in: the

inward direction, the carriage being further provided with a pin 81 which forms a mount? ing for the coil spring82located in the opening 83 of the pedestal; At theoppjosite end of the pedestal is the hook projection '84 rigidly mounted in the pedestal as shown and forming a stationary-support forthe opposite end of the springw82. Inasmuch as the spring 82 is a tension spring,- it: is obvious;

'89 of the carriage.

forms a bearing for the roller 86 provided to contact a cam guide in a manner and for a purpose hereinafter more fully described. The carriage is further provided with a verti cally disposed back plate 87 held by screws or rivets 88 against the upstanding portion This plate is so disposed and constructed as to form-a back stop for the cans when they are introduced into the device so as to limit their inward movement and to position them in a propermanner relative to the feeding nozzle located thereabove. It willbe obvious that if the roller 86 is caused to contact a camfor forcing it in the outward direction that the carriage will be free to slide wit-h the back plate 87 in a manner to eject the cans from the pedestalion which they are carried. The side walls of the device are constructed preferably as shown in Figure 8, i. e., L-shaped, having vertical wall portions and a. base portion by which they are mounted. Oneplate comprises the vertical wall 90 and the base plate91 held by means of suitable screws or other holding means 92. The opposite side wall comprises the vertical wall 93 andthe base portion 94 held by suitablescrews 92 and being further provided with the extensions 95 and at the top and bottom with lateral re'inforcingrib's 96 therefor. Attention is directed to the fact that the extensions% form fingers which enter into the feeding and ejecting operations and that thewall element having lingers 95 is located on the trailing side of the device.

' with respect to the direction of rotation.

0am feeding mechanism The can feeding mechanism may be of any suitable construction, but it is preferably in the form of an elongated frame or cage element 97, which contains in a continuous column a plurality of cans fed as by gravity from a hopper or other means located above the level of the machine.

For the purpose of this invention the cage element 97 is in the nature of a conveyor chute for guiding the cans as shown in FiguresB and 4, for instance, into positionto be fed on to the machine. The cage 97 comprises upper and lower straps 98 and 99 and side straps 100 constituting the enclosing means for the cans and circumferential straps 101 riveted or attached in any other suitable manner to the strap elements in spaced relation. A major portion of the cage or conveyor 97 is disposed in a vertical position so that the cans will be fed automatically by means of gravity alone.

. At a point in close proximity to the can I stuffing machine where the cans are taken on, the straps 100 terminate as shown in Figure 7 and are supported by a'traverse strap 102. Mounted on a rigid bracket 108 carried by a portion of the frame is a table'or platform 104 forsupport-ing thelower end of the cageand means for feeding the cans onto the machine. The strap elements 99 of the. cage terminate at a point subs'tantiallyfflush with the top of the table 104 so that the cans will be fed readily in their courseof travel ontothe top of thetable. Positioned on top of the table are sidewalls 105 and 106 which form with the table 104 a box-like construction for containing the cans at the extremity at which they are fed on to the machine. Across the top of the side walls is a strap 107 which isperforated as'at 108 for, receiving the bolt 109 r on which the spring-110 is mounted in hearing against the top plate 111 mounted as by means of the nut and bolt 112 to the upper portion of the traverse strap 102 previously.

referred to. This plate is preferably of flex;-

ible spring metal and is adapted to bear frictionally on top of the cans toofier a frictional resistanceto their travel'so that they will be 1 readily maintained in proper position. L0 cated on the inner surface of the side plate 106, about midway its height, is the horizon.- tal bar 113 having a pivot 114 at one end and a taper-115 at itsopposite end; The taper is for the purpose of guiding the cans laterally so they will more snuglyfitfthe space provided for them, the space in the cage being slightly in excess of that which is necessary. Mounted on the. pivot 114 isthe L-shaped arm 116 extending across the opening of thecage in a manner to arrest the forward movement of cans under the feeding action of gravity. A lug 117 is provided on the L-shaped arm adjacent the pivot and-adapted to abut 2; lug 118, carried on the bar113 in a manner to prevent excessive pivotal movement in a counter-clockwise direction, such as thatextensions or fingers95 onthe can receiving mechanism so that the fingers upon movement will withdraw a can from the feeding device laterally in a manner to cause it to be subsequently fed into the can receiving-device. 1

By referring to Figure 4, it will be. noted that a pin l20ris mounted on the table 104 and forms a bearing for the elongated curvedarm 121, which arm is guided by means of the strap 122 properly located on' theiplate 104,

and is resiliently mounted by means of'the extension 123 thereon penetrating the lug 124 and the spring 1255 all in the manner shown.

. Theelongated arm is adapted to form a cam surface against which the circumferentially moving cans under the influence of-fingers 95 will abut and will be caused thereby to ,move radially inwardly into their proper positions during their rotary movement.

. The spring 1 25 offers a resilient backing to 137 on'to the block 138, as shown in Figure illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. The annular gear element 36 mounted to rotate at the upper part of the machine previously described serves as a means for drlving the measuring mechanism. By referring to Figure 5 it will be noted that a lug 126is mounted on the up per part of' the cylindrical frame 'memberv and servesas a mounting for the stub bearing l27 held against rotation by means of the set screw 128. Mounted on the bearing is a gear 129 in mesh withthe annular36,

which gear is provided with 'anextension 130 provided with a slot'13'1. constituting an adjustable mounting for the pitman bearing 132. Mounted on the bearing is 'the pitman .133, having aforked end 134 constituting a pivot with the bearing 135 for the rod 136. The rod 136 is screw threaded as at 6 and held by means of t-he'nut 139 against accidental displacement Screwed into the side'of the block 138 are pivot bolts 140"and 141, forming mountings for the rods 142 and 143, which are held thereon by nuts144 and 145. These rodsare screw threaded as at 146 and147to adjustably receive the screw threadedheads of the bolts 148 and 149 which have threaded shanks 150 and15l' screwed into the screw threaded opening 152 this arrangement permits the blocks to be adjusted. toward and away from each other so asto vary the opening Ashown in Figure 5. The two blocks with their opposed faces are mounted to slide in aca sing element 154,-

having a bottom and two sides, the bottom being provided with an opening 155, surrounded by the depending flange 156. Mounted on top of the housing is a closing plate 157 having an opening 158 and the upstandingflange 159. One portion of theflange 159 has a bearing lug 160 thereon and an additional lug 161 is mounted in spaced relation thereto'on the end of "the closing plate157; This last lug has a screw threaded opening therethrough in a manner to receive the rod 162 having a handle 163 adapted to.

The plate 165 has a depending flange 166, through which a portion of the rod -1628X tends. It will be obvious that by turning the hand wheel 163 the opening B may be readily adjusted. It is further obvious that when the machine. rotates in its operation that the gear 129 is accordingly rotated by the gear'36. in a. manner to reciprocate the" blocks 138 and 153, so as to bring the opening.

A successively under the opening B and over the opening 155. It will also be obvious that if the material tobe canned is fed into the opening B and thence into the opening A it will be moved laterally and ejected through the opening 155 in measured charges.

It will alsobe noted by referring to F ige ure 5, that in addition to the adjustment effected by varying the size of the opening A and'the size of the cooperating opening B, an add1tional adjustment may be effected bv altering the position of the bolt 132 in the slot 130, whereby to bringthe bearing for thepi-tman 133 toward or away from the center of rotation of the stub bearing127. Thisv adjustment operates to alter the stroke and consequently the travel of the blocks where- V by a variableffeeding action is'provided'.

Furthermore, by adjusting the'rod 136 with respect. to the-block 138 by. means of threads 137,-the initial position of the pair of blocks may be determined for altering the timing of the feeding action. By means of the, pitman adjustment in the slot 130 and the last mentioned adjustment of therod 136, it is obvious thatthe feeding action may be delayed or hastened with respect to the synchronized action of theremaining portions of the machine, whereby the material may be caused to feed into the funnels at the desired moment to give the most efiicient results.

o-fthe block 153. It will be obvious that noted that the pan or receptacle 167 is posi- By referring to Figures 1 and 2 it will be shown in Figure 1 from any suitable source;

as a hopper located above. In practice it will; perhaps be preferable, to have an operator stand adjacent the. machine and work the material toward and into the opening 168 and thence into 'theopening B. It will also be noted in Figure 1 that the opening155 leads to the downwardly extending chute 170,

which terminates immediately above the path of the funnels 71, previously described,

in a manner to feed the measured material thereinto as they pass in their path of travel.

Machine heating feature This invention contemplates in addition as shown in Figure '1, a suitable heating unit,

such as the burner 171, having a plurality of jets 172 fed by a fuel pipe 173 connected to a suitable source of fuel not shown; The

burner is so disposed that the flames therefrom will play upon the sides ofthe funnels as they pass so as to keep them heated sufficiently to melt any tallow or fatty substances which ,are passing through the machine, all to prevent clogging, due to solidification of the fat-s. When such substances are heated and melted the parts are kept well lubricated, whichmakesfor efficiency in operation.

Gan ejecting mechanism Durin the rotation of the, can stufiinc' D a i machine the cans are completely filled and .at a point in the circumference of the ma chine slightly in advance of the point of ejectment, the cylinder 47 and nozzle 51 of each can stuffing unit are raised by the influence of the cam groove 24 in a manner to withdraw the nozzle completely from the can. During this portion of the circumferential travel the outer and inner edges of the can are caused to pass under the plate.

174 on the inside of the path traversed by the upstanding pairs of rods 31,'and plate175 located on the outside of such path, leaving a space between their adjacent edges sufficient eject the cans, a triangular cam member 178 is provided in the same horizontal plane as I j the roller 86 at the inner end of the sliding carriage 76 of the can receiving devices. At the outer portion, of the device isa platform 179, with its inner edge positioned in a manner to come in'close association with the upper surface of the sliding carriage of the can receiving devices so as to form a surface on to which the cans can be slid when removed from their filling position. A rotating disk 180 is provided mounted on the shaft 181,

' with its upper surfaceonly slightly below the surface of the platform 179. The piece constituting the platform is very thin whereby it may overlap a portion of the rotating disk and yet permit the cans to be slid from the platform on to the disk with the necessity of dropping off only a very slight step. Arranged tangentially at a point diametrically on the disk 180 is a flexible conveyor element 182 which may be of any general construction, but of sufficient width to accommodate the "cans as they are fed thereon from the rotating disk. 'The disk is likewise very thin and is disposed in overlapping relationto' the container, and forms a comparatively small step therewith so that the cans under the influence of the rotating disk and a travelling conveyor will be caused to pass from one to the other without difiiculty. The disk is constructed and connected to be rotated in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow and the cans are caused to travel in the proper.

path by means of. the guiding rails 188 and 18% mounted as by means of small feet 185 attached on a suitable support therefor. It i will be noted that the rails are bent in a manner to guide .7 the cans in a circumferential path of the disk and to cause them to" travel tangentially therefrom on to the conveyor 182. Attention is directed to the fact that the rail 183 terminates at 186 and is supported by a foot piece 187 mounted on an arcuate guide bar 188, which is attached to the side plate 106 of the can feeding box-member.

This piece is provided with an upstanding flange 189 attached as by means of rivets 190, as shown in Figure 9. Located below this guide plate is a second guideplate 191 attached in a similar manner to the side plate I 106, the edge of which, however,;underlies slightly the edge of the upper piate 188. These plates acting together form a guide means for. directing the cans when theyv are moved thereagainst under the influence of the rotating disk 180 circumferentially- Y around the disk and on the conveyor 182. Attention is directed, however, to the fact that the guide plate 188 at its end is provided with a knife edge .192, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

If, under any circumstances, it should occur that a can is not properly ejected, or

becomes wedged or otherwise fails to move free of its particular can receiving and positioning means, and it is caused to continue in a circumferential path by movement of the fingers 95 instead of being deposited freely onto the rotating disk, such acondition will not damage or destroy the guide bar 188.in that the knife edge will freely penetrate the can by cutting its way therethrough and permit it to pass by the bar without difficulty. \Vhen a can is not ejected and passes the bar in this manner, it contacts the L-bar 116 shown in Figure 91and causes it to move on its pivot 11 to thedotted line position 119 in a manner above referred feeding of cans to the particular can receiving means which contains the jammed can is prevented, but the feeding means is immediately restored after such can receiving to, so thatthe means'has passed to its normalcondition, so as to feed cans to the other receiving means in the manner desired.

- Itwill be obvious from this construction What the guide bars 188 and 191 constitute means for directing the canscircumferentially with the disk and yet offer no obstruction to the passing of the can in the event one is jammed or wedged in the can receiving de- 19 vice.

step over which the can can be readily forced.

f For driving the rotating disk 180 a gear 193 is provided on the shaft 48, which meshes with a chain or otherv flexible gear element 194, driving the sprocket195. The sprocket 195 is'mounted on a shaft 196 carried in a bearing 197 in the bracket 198, riveted or otherwise rigidly attached to a leg 21 of the supporting frame structure. with the shaft 196 is the gear 199 which *meshes with a second gear 200, also carried by the bracket 198. Gear 200 is fixed to shaft 201, to which is also fixed a sprocket A 202. The sprocket 202 is connected to sprocket 203 carried on the shaft 181 by means of the chain or other flexible gearing element 204;. p

The conveyor element 182 may be driven by gears or any other suitable connection from the shaft 181 in the manner desired, or it may be driven from aseparate source of power, according to the particular installation. 7 p

Air cleaning means A pipe 205 is provided extending from the top of the device into the interior of the stationary cylindrical frame member 20, and

j extending through the wall-thereof as at 206, with its end 207 presented in close proximity to the path of the cam receiving and p0sitioning device. This pipe is connected with a source of air under pressure, not shown, in a manner to provide a constant stream of air flowing from the end of the pipe 207 for blowing out and cleaning the can receiving de vices or pockets just prior to the'int'roduction of new cans therein.

means were provided for cleaning out this 7 material. The supply of air under pressure :ejected from the end of the pipe operates to maintain the pockets clear at all times. It

Rigidly fixed In the event that, through some failure of the machine, or fail-.

also aids in clearing away any excess material.

which accidentally spills or otherwise falls upon the parts of the machine. Provided around the bottom of the. machine is an annu--, I

lar. pan 208 for catching such material as may drop or otherwise fall from the machine other non-circular shape. Mounted on the nozzle is the sliding collar 211having a shoulder 212 thereon, and the depending flange 213. A screw v214 is provided at one side thereof with its endpositioned in. the slot 215 of the nozzle 210. This modified form of I '85- stufling nozzle is intended for operation on open topped cans 216, hereintermed sanitary cans, wherein the collar 211 operates to; v

form a partial closing means for the upper portion of the can duringthe filling operation. The collar is slidably mounted on the nozzle 210 and when the screw is in the lower portion of the groove 215 the collar is caused to be lifted with the lifting of the nozzle .to

move the entire device, from engagement with V the can. When the nozzle isbeing lowered thecollar abuts the margin or upper end of the can and is arrested in such position, but

due to the slot 215 the nozzle is free to continue its downwardmovement in a manner. exactly similar to that of entering the round opening in the top of the soldered cans previously described. In addition to forming a partial closingmeans' the sliding collar 211 also forms a supporting or bracing frame for r the uppermargin ofthe can. and prevents distortion thereof by the pressure of the stuff ing operation. v

1 Operation In operation the machine rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 2 and indicated by'the arrow. The material to be canned is fed into the receptacle no r 17 6 through the pipe 169 and with the aid of an operator is introduced through the opening 168 into the automatic measuring device for measuring out predetermined charges by volume. The measuring device is reciprocated by means of the pitman 133 driven from the gear 36 at the top of the rotating machine so that the feeding action willv be in synchronism with the passing of the individual meat stufling units beneath the endof the chute 170. Consequently, as the funnel 71 of each meat stufiing unit passes beneath the lower end of the chute 170 it receives a predetermined charge of the material to be canned. At the point ust ahead of the point in the circumference of travel of each unit of the machine at which the charge'is re ceived, an empty can 217 isintroduced by means of the fingers 95 of the can receiving device contactinglaterally the face of a can projecting from the feeding mechanism, which can is guided by means of the bar 121 into proper position beneath the nozzle 51. At this instant the stuffing cylinder 47 and nozzle 51 are lowered into the opening of the can and the plunger 58 and rod 67 are caused to move successively downwardly in a manner to eject the charge of material into the can. At the point where the feeding cylinder 47 and nozzle begin to move upwardly the edges of the can pass beneath the plates 174 and 17 5 to prevent the lifting thereof with the nozzle and as the can receiving device approaches the cam 17 8 the roller 86 contacts the edge thereof and ejects the can on to the platform 17 9. During the ejecting operation the can is caused to move by engagement with the fingers 95 until itis dropped on to the rotating disk 180 entirely free of the can receiving device. At this point the rotating disk carries the can in a circumferential path until it contacts the guide bars 188 and 191 and also the uide rail 183 and deposits it upon the travdlling conveyor 182. The conveyor carries the can on to any desired point where it is further processed and sealed as desired.

As above explained, in the event the cans are ammed instead of being properly ejected, the can will pass by the guide bar 188 by virtue of being cut by the knife blade 192 on the end thereof and cause, by its presence, the L-bar to move to the dotted line position 119 shown in Figure 9, to prevent the feeding of a new can at that time. The pipe 205 will maintain the parts clean and free of excess material during operation, and the flame from the burner 17 2 will maintain the funnels and portions of the machine, which are apt to be clogged, hot so as to prevent solidification of the fats in the food material.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described the combination of a movable'frame carrying a plurality of stufiing units, said units moving in a predetermined path, and a stationary measuring device having an outlet above the path of said units, means deriving reciprocat ing motion in driving connectionwith said movable frame and connected to said measuring device, saidmeasuring device being adjustable to vary the charge fed to each unit,

ing motion in drivingconnection with said movable frame and connected to said measuring device, said measuring device being adjustable to vary the charge fed to each unit, and said meansbeing adjustable to vary the time at which the measured charges are fed to said units. t j

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a rotatable stuifing machine having a gear fixed thereto, and a measurlng and feeding device comprising a hopper and a reciprocating measuringplunger,

said plunger being adjustable to varyfthe charge, and a gear in mesh withsaid first gear having a pitman connected thereto for reciprocating said plunger,and capable of adjustment to vary the stroke of said plunger.

' 4. In a can stuiiing machine a can stuliing unit movable in apredetermined path, means for automatically feeding cans to said unit during the movement of the latter, and means for preventing the feeding of said cans to said unit'if said unit is not free to receive said cans. 1 V 1 I 5. In a can stuffing machine a can stufling unit movable in. a predetermined path, means for automatically feeding cans to said unit. 1 during the movement of the latter comprising a frame for retaining and feeding cans by gravity, said chute being provided with'a pivotalarm atthe endthereof for arresting 1 feeding movement of the cans, said arm be-' ing'movable to a position free from said unit when said unit is not free to receive an empty can. and in said position adapted to arrest thefeeding of cans until said unit has passed.

6. In a can stufiing machine, can stuffing units movable in a predeterminedpath, means" for automatically discharging cans from saidunits comprising conveyor means and a stationary guiding arm adapted to contact and influence the movement of said cans,said arm being provided with a knife edge adapted to penetrate said can in the event of partial removal from said units.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 28th day of February, 1928. I WALTER, BAUER.

and said means being adjustable to vary the endless path, each unit reciprocating during each cycle of travel, a stationary measuring device having an outlet overlying said pathof said units, and meansderiving reciprocat- 

